Marvin Harrison Jr. was traded to the Houston Texans by the Arizona Cardinals last week. Calling Harrison's struggles a disappointment in the NFL so far is an understatement.
Don't get it twisted. Harrison is the least productive wide receiver Ohio State has produced this decade. Jaxson Smith-Njigba is a top receiver in the league, Garrett Wilson is an established receiver and Emeka Egbuka is coming off a solid rookie season with Tampa Bay. Other receivers from the 2010s/20s era include Chris Olave and Terry McLaurin.
While Harrison now has a fresh start in Houston, he set records with the Buckeyes.
He is just one of a few who have transformed Ohio State into the "famed 'Wide Receiver U'".
But how dominant have they really been?
Since the shortened 2020 season, Ohio State has produced eight 1,000-yard seasons from five players. This list includes Garrett Wilson and Jaxson Smith-Njigba in 2021, Harrison in 2022 and 2023, Emeka Egbuka in 2022 and 2024 and Jeremiah Smith in 2024 and 2025.
Smith has 3,268 receiving yards in 35 games since 2024, more than 1,100 clear of any other FBS receiver with 25-plus games in that span.
| # | yds | player name |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 3268 | Jeremiah Smith |
| 2 | 2163 | KJ Duff |
| 3 | 1998 | Skyler Bell |
| 4 | 1978 | Corey Rucker |
| 5 | 1761 | Junior Vandeross |
| 6 | 1678 | Lewis Bond |
| 7 | 1673 | Elijah Sarratt |
| 8 | 1643 | Junior Sherrill |
| 9 | 1597 | Caleb Douglas |
| 10 | 1587 | T.J. Moore |
Methodology
Frozen rows from a deep-dig claim verified server-side on 2026-10-17. The SQL ran read-only in the dig sandbox against the canonical corpus and is recorded for review; it is never re-executed. SELECT player_name, team, COUNT(*) AS g, SUM(receptions) AS rec, SUM(receiving_yards) AS yds, ROUND(SUM(receiving_yards)*1.0/COUNT(*),1) AS ypg FROM player_week_stats WHERE division='fbs' AND season>=2024 GROUP BY 1,2 HAVING COUNT(*)>=25 ORDER BY yds DESC LIMIT 10
If Smith leaves for the NFL after this season (which he will), he may be the best receiver in school history.
In six games of the 2026 season, Smith has 916 yards. He is second in the FBS behind Oregon State's Jesse Legree at 932, on a 152.7-per-game pace.
Year after year, Smith's total yards have climbed. He totaled 1,315 yards in 16 games in 2024 and 1,243 last season. He has also now broken every major receiving record at Ohio State, holding the all-time career records in receptions, receiving yards and touchdowns.
Receivers are only part of the story. Ohio State's success this decade, including the 2024 national championship, has come from a team that has dominated almost everyone it has played.
Ohio State has the second-best margin in the country. The Buckeyes are 71-12 across 2020 to 2026 recorded games, .885, behind Georgia's .897. But Ohio State's +23.52 points per game is the best of any FBS team with 60-plus games.
When they win football games, they dominate their opponents. In this decade, they have finished second in scoring margin in 2021, 2022 and 2025.
| # | Team | mpg |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ohio State | 23.52 |
| 2 | Georgia | 21 |
| 3 | Notre Dame | 19.71 |
| 4 | Alabama | 19.23 |
| 5 | Oregon | 15.78 |
| 6 | Michigan | 14.47 |
| 7 | Penn State | 13.79 |
| 8 | Utah | 13.43 |
| 9 | Texas | 13.11 |
| 10 | Ole Miss | 12.96 |
Methodology
Frozen rows from a deep-dig claim verified server-side on 2026-10-17. The SQL ran read-only in the dig sandbox against the canonical corpus and is recorded for review; it is never re-executed. SELECT team, COUNT(*) AS g, ROUND((SUM(points_scored)-SUM(points_allowed))*1.0/COUNT(*),2) AS mpg FROM team_week_stats WHERE season BETWEEN 2020 AND 2026 AND division='fbs' GROUP BY 1 HAVING COUNT(*)>=60 ORDER BY mpg DESC LIMIT 10
The only season when Ohio State was an outlier was in 2025, when their defense was among the most dominant of any program this decade.
Counting only regular-season games (including the conference championship), Ohio State allowed 106 points in 13 games last season, or 8.15 per game.
That is the best mark of any FBS team-season of 12 or more games from 2014 to 2026. Michigan's 2023 team *9.46 points per game) and Georgia's 2021 team (9.54) were almost as dominat.
| # | Team | Season | papg |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ohio State | 2025 | 8.15 |
| 2 | Michigan | 2023 | 9.46 |
| 3 | Georgia | 2021 | 9.54 |
| 4 | Clemson | 2019 | 10.62 |
| 5 | Indiana | 2025 | 10.85 |
| 6 | Ohio State | 2024 | 10.92 |
| 7 | Texas Tech | 2025 | 10.92 |
| 8 | Ohio State | 2023 | 11 |
| 9 | Penn State | 2023 | 11.42 |
| 10 | Alabama | 2017 | 11.50 |
Methodology
Frozen rows from a deep-dig claim verified server-side on 2026-10-17. The SQL ran read-only in the dig sandbox against the canonical corpus and is recorded for review; it is never re-executed. SELECT team, season, COUNT(*) AS g, SUM(points_allowed) AS pa, ROUND(SUM(points_allowed)*1.0/COUNT(*),2) AS papg FROM team_week_stats WHERE season_type='REG' AND division='fbs' GROUP BY 1,2 HAVING COUNT(*)>=10 ORDER BY papg ASC LIMIT 10
Of every FBS team-season since 2014, Ohio State's 2025 is the only one whose worst defensive game allowed 17 or fewer points.
12-1 through the first 13 games of the season, then a 24-24 postseason loss to Miami. Both losses, against Indiana and Miami, came with the defense allowing 13 and then 24 points. In their 12 wins last season, they averaged 36.3 and allowed 7.0; the two losses were the entire story of the season.
Ohio State will lean on Smith to take it far into the playoffs this year. After a heartbreaking loss on the road at Texas earlier in the season, the Buckeyes will face Indiana, the reigning national champs, in Bloomington. It is a must-win for both programs.
Indiana is the first team in the last 50 years to be home underdogs while on a 20-game win streak.